AHRI Reports Strong May for Air Conditioner Shipments Despite Year-to-Date HVAC Market Softening
Warm Air Furnaces
U.S. shipments of gas warm air furnaces for May 2026 decreased -6.3%, to 265,734 units, compared to 283,691 units shipped in May 2025. Oil warm air furnace shipments increased +12.2%, to 1,871 units in May 2026, compared to 1,667 units shipped in May 2025.
Year-to-date U.S. shipments of gas warm air furnaces decreased -10.5% to 1,232,653 units, compared to 1,377,374 units shipped during the same period in 2025. Year-to-date U.S. shipments of oil warm air furnaces increased +11.5% to 12,790 units, compared to 11,466 units shipped during the same period in 2025.
Central Air Conditioners and Air-Source Heat Pumps
U.S. shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps totaled 919,685 units in May 2026, an increase of +6.7% compared to 862,129 units shipped in May 2025. U.S. shipments of air conditioners increased +10.2%, to 523,132 units, compared to 474,519 units shipped in May 2025. U.S. shipments of air-source heat pumps increased +2.3%, to 396,553 units, compared to 387,610 shipped in May 2025.
Year-to-date combined shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps decreased by 1.2% to 3,693,117, compared to 3,736,372 units shipped during the same period in 2025. Year-to-date shipments of central air conditioners decreased by 3.4% to 1,955,106 units, compared to 2,022,984 units shipped during the same period in 2025. The year-to-date total for heat pump shipments increased +1.4% to 1,738,011, compared to 1,713,388 units shipped during the same period in 2025.
Industry data is aggregated from the information supplied by AHRI member companies that participate in the Statistics Program. No other AHRI data
(e.g., by state or region) is available to the public other than that published. AHRI does not conduct any market forecasting and is not qualified to discuss
market trends. BTUHs of 64.9 and below are for residential units; 65.0 and above for commercial.